Sapphire Princess or HAL Oosterdam for S. American itinerary

[mackfam]

Trying to decide between these ships for a South American cruise in 2026.
 

The Oosterdam goes from Santiago to BA (or reverse) while the Sapphire Princess is round trip from BA with a few days cruising the Antarctic peninsula.

 

I originally was looking at the Sapphire Princess as I had followed a live thread from someone who did the itinerary this year from BA to Santiago (or reverse), but it looks like that Princess is not offering that itinerary in 2026, hence my consideration of HAL.

The Oosterdam cruise is about $1000 cheaper (14 days vs 16 for Princess).

 

Looking for opinions on either option. TIA

 

 

 

 

 

[soccermom4]

Can't address Sapphire Princess - but in March, 2023 we took Oosterdam from BA to Fort Lauderdale (via Santiago).  It was marvelous.  Next year we're going to take Oceania from BA to Santiago and do the route that adds Antarctica.  I think the question comes down to which type of ship you prefer.  I believe Oosterdam is smaller than Sapphire Princess - with less "bells and whistles". However, we appreciated the smaller size and the ability to have great viewpoints from the Promenade Deck, the Crows Nest etc.  In looking at the 2026 itineraries - it looks like the Princess cruise does Antarctica, but skips the Chilean fjords.  We found that part of the cruise to be really interesting because the captain has some leeway to where he cruises.  It also adds some interesting ports.  Best of both worlds would be the 22 day cruises on Oosterdam that do both Chilean Fjords and Antarctica!